E3 2012 | Fanatical 5 – Top 5 Announcements of E3 2012

With E3 ending last week, you’ve no doubt been flooded with information. So many stories, so many announcements, that it’s hard to keep track of them all. So I’m doing it for you, like some sort of news fairy.

What we’ve got here is the 5 top announcements of E3 2012.

Watch Dogs:

Watch Dogs is a new title that’s being released by Ubisoft. Revolving around criminal cyber-stalking, players will be able to hack into a wide variety of high tech devices to accomplish a range of missions. And when I say varied, I mean everything from security cameras, street lights, and even cellphones.  So far though, I’m just talking about a new take on a common theme: Be a criminal, out smart some other criminals, use gadgets along the way. What Watch Dogs does differently, is that it takes the game world, outside the game.

Ubisoft is making the Watch Dogs experience more immersive than any mainstream game has ever done. Ubisoft is planning to release a cellphone app along side the title that will allow players to track their progress, targets and even their friends through their actual cell phone. For purposes of research, aid, or hindrance, players will be able to make the game a part of their daily lives.

This is a huge experiment for gamers that really get in to their games, and is one of the most exciting things announced at this year’s E3, in this humble enthusiast’s opinion.

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StarWars 1313:

A new third person shooter developed by Lucas Arts (and therefore obviously about all things StarWars), StarWars 1313 is  what looks to be a very engaging installment in the lineage that is StarWars in gaming. Specifically, one reason this looks so enticing is that it’s clearly picking up on common trends in gaming at the moment. By that, I don’t think I’ve fooled anyone into thinking I mean anything other than: It’s been influenced by Uncharted‘s success. A number of games have picked up on the heavy use of cinematic caliber visuals, scripted into real time gameplay, to make for a stunning experience. Almost like watching a film, but better.

The visuals here, along with the immense and wonderful StarWars universe, is going to make for one hell of a title.

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Agni’s Philosophy:

Square Enix displayed one of the most visually impressive demonstrations at this year’s expo. The Final Fantasy Real Time Tech Demo, titled “Agni’s Philosophy” is Square’s show of muscle flexing in regards to the capability of their next engine. And it really is something. Incredibly smooth visuals stomp all over the uncanny valley as desert winds whip up dust, rebels ambush a secret ritual, and a young mage-type girl flees for her life. Before getting rescued by what I’ll assume is Bahamut.

The engine, called the Luminous Engine, is described as being something that we’ll be seeing on next generation consoles. Seeing some solid next gen content is something that everyone should be excited about, whether or not you’re a fan of the Final Fantasy series (come on, Square, I would do unmentionable things for this demo to have been an extension on the Chrono Trigger universe). C’est la vie.

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Black Ops 2: Strike Force:

Strike Force is a new form of gameplay being introduced in to the Call of Duty series. A major deviation from the previous games, Strike Force mode seamlessly combines RTS style tactical positioning and strategy, with fast paced FPS action. You will switch between your standard first person cam, and the “Overwatch Mode”, which is a birds eye view (with some fancy green shading to make it look more high tech) where you will issue commands to your unit.

If this mode lives up to its potential, it could be the largest extension of gameplay the series has ever seen. These Strike Force missions will be integrated in to the campaign, and will provide a branching narrative progression based on the degree to which you successfully complete them (that is to say, failing the mission will not demand you redo it. Rather the story will progress, taking into account that you failed).

I personally think this is a huge step in the right direction for the franchise. Agree?

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Xbox Music:

Xbox Music is probably the single most impressive announcement we heard at E3. It’s not another title, or another a hint at something to be down the line. It’s a full service that hasn’t been available before. And if you’re a music lover, what a doozy of a service it is. Xbox Music has two huge features going for it. Firstly, the size of the library. With 30 million songs, it dwarfs both Sony and Spotify in terms of sheer volume. Also, Xbox Music will be available not just on the Xbox 360 but on Windows PC, tablets, and phones as well.

That cross platform access to one of the largest libraries of music you could ever get your hands on. Also promised are easy ways of discovering and cataloging new music. This really does sound like the music service we’ve all been waiting for.

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